Manhunt in – Hawaii Police are searching for Jacob Daniel Baker, 36, described as “extremely dangerous,” after three men were found dead in the Puna District on the Big Island this week. Authorities say autopsies found one victim was strangled, another died from sharp forc
Thursday morning, the search was still underway on the Big Island after three men were found dead within days in Hawaii’s rural Puna District—an area stretching along the island’s east coast where neighbors often know each other by routine and landmarks.
Hawaii Police Department officials described the person they are now hunting as “extremely dangerous.” The suspect is Jacob Daniel Baker, 36.
Police identified two of the victims as Robert Shine and John Carse, both 69. The third man was identified as 79, but authorities said they were awaiting next-of-kin notification before releasing his name.
All three men were found dead Monday and Tuesday in the Puna District. Autopsies determined that Shine was strangled and that Carse died from sharp force trauma. The other man was found with blunt force injuries.
At a news conference Wednesday, Police Capt. Jeremy Scott Lewis said investigators have not explained publicly what evidence led them to identify Baker as a suspect. Still, he said police are confident Baker is responsible or involved in all three homicides.
Lewis also urged caution. Baker should be considered armed and “extremely, extremely dangerous.”
Police Chief Reed Mahuna said there was no clear motive yet, and the only known connection between the victims was their close proximity to one another. Mahuna said the men lived 400 to 500 feet apart.
Shine was the first man found. The department said Shine was discovered Monday night, partially submerged in a man-made pond. Lewis later said Shine was found dead at a home in Pāhoa, Hawaii, on Tuesday.
Initial assumptions had pointed toward a medical issue, Lewis said, before an autopsy confirmed Shine’s death was a homicide.
The reaction in the area has been raw and immediate. A neighbor of Shine’s. Jacob Spandl. told the Honolulu station KHNL of Honolulu that he encountered Baker after Shine’s body was recovered. Spandl said Baker was “yelling crazy things. ” and that “one of the things that stood out was he screamed ‘Bob’s dead’ about three to four times.”.
Shine’s daughter, Anon, described her father to the station as an avid farmer. She said his death had left her reeling, telling KHNL: “I’m just still really in shock and just going through different waves of emotion and disbelief and sadness.”
The second death unfolded soon after. The 79-year-old man was found Tuesday afternoon after officers responded to a home in Pāhoa, Lewis said.
Carse was found 19 miles away on Tuesday night after a request for a welfare check, Lewis said.
The police response in the Puna District has involved “significant resources,” Mahuna said, as authorities search for Baker.
Mahuna also issued a direct message to anyone who might be harboring Baker or has any contact with him. He said: “If the suspect is watching this, we would like him to contact the police, turn himself in and don’t risk any further harm to anyone else or himself.”
Hawaii manhunt Jacob Daniel Baker Puna District Big Island Robert Shine John Carse homicides armed suspect strangled sharp force trauma blunt force injuries